Natural Perspectives --

VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY

On designated days between mid-December and January 5, groups of

dedicated birders across the nation tromp through field and forest from

dawn to dusk, dutifully counting every bird they see, come rain, sleet,

snow or shine.

This phenomenon is known as the annual Audubon Christmas bird count.

It’s the largest volunteer collection of scientific data in the world.

Started in 1900, the Christmas bird count is the longest running

ornithological database in history with over 100 years of scientific data

collected by volunteers. The object is to uncover changes in bird

populations across the country. With this count data, scientists can see

which bird populations are increasing, and decreasing. They can track

movements across the country as species spread their ranges. They can

monitor declines in native bird populations and spreads of introduced

species. With a hundred years of data, there’s a lot they can do to track

the status of America’s birds.

The original purpose of the census was to counteract a more sinister

tradition known as the Christmas side-hunt. In the late 1800s, teams of

hunters would compete to see which side could bring in the biggest pile

of dead birds. This indiscriminate slaughter was decimating America’s

bird populations.

In 1900, the newly formed Audubon Society found 27 people willing to

count birds instead of shoot them. The count evolved from a form of

protest to the collection of valuable scientific data as more and more

people joined in the fun. Recognizing the impossibility of counting every

bird in America, the organizers of the count set up designated count

circles to sample bird populations rather than count every individual. In

2000, over 52,000 people participated in collection of this valuable

data.

You have to be at least half nuts to do this count every year. I don’t

know what this says about us, but Vic and I have been doing it for nearly

25 years. Although we’ve been drenched during El Nino years, we generally

labor in sunny comfort to find a hundred species in our Huntington

Beach/Seal Beach/Westminster segment of the Orange County coastal count

circle.

Vic has evolved from a participant to leader of his circle segment,

which encompasses Goldenwest College, Westminster Memorial Park, and the

Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. Terry Graham Hill leads the group

that counts the birds at Bolsa Chica, another segment of the Orange

County coastal count circle.

On Dec. 30, most of us got up well before dawn to meet for breakfast

at Dennys. Vic and his hard-core birding crew met us there. They had been

up since 2:30 a.m., counting owls. While most of us were whining about

meeting at 5:30 a.m., they had been hard at it for hours. Vic then

assigned teams to cover the hot spots in his count circle, making sure

that all parks and flood control channels were covered. The leaders of

the circle segments met later that evening to compile data for the entire

circle. It requires a special kind of dedication to do this year after

year.

The most obvious trend that we’ve noted in our area is a precipitous

decline in spotted doves. The numbers held fairly constant at 200 to 300

individuals between 1985 and 1994. Over the next three years, numbers

fell to the 100s. Then in 1998, the population crashed. For 1998, 1999

and 2000, only 30, 20 and three individuals were spotted, respectively.

Spotted doves are not a native species. Perhaps conditions have changed

for them. Maybe a disease is spreading through their population. Or

perhaps predators are taking a toll. Populations of rock doves (pigeons

to you non-birders) and mourning doves have held rather steady over the

same time period, but it appears that spotted doves may die out in

Southern California.

We’ve also seen a decline of burrowing owls in our area to zero. No

secret about that problem -- it’s development. Take away a specific

habitat, in this case large expanses of open fields, and the animals that

require it for survival will die out. You don’t see a lot of burrowing

owls in a Home Depot parking lot or a development of luxury homes.

While some species are in stark decline, we’ve seen an alarming

increase in crows. Numbers fluctuated between 1,000 to 1,500 individuals

between 1985 and 1995. Numbers rose to more than 2,000 in 1996, increased

to 3,000 in 1998 and topped 6,000 in 1999. Crows prey on other birds,

decimating nestlings of many species. Now let’s see. The number of crows

quadrupled in the same time period that the number of spotted doves, a

prey species for crows, plummeted. We’ll leave it to you to decide if

there is a connection.

But look out, crows. West Nile fever is headed our way. Come spring,

we may see our crow population crash if this disease reaches Southern

California as predicted.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at o7 [email protected] .